1930s man fashion

The new fashion in fashion photos: the field is a rich one for less well-heeled collectors

Fashion magazines are so crowded with stunning photographs of gorgeous models in haute couture dresses, sparkling jewels and sumptuous furs that each shot may seem indistinguishable from the next. That one day these frozen images might actually be worth more than the clothes themselves seems highly implausible. But, indeed, that day is coming.

Last year, photographer Richard Avedon's 1955 Harper's Bazaar portrait of the model Dovima, posed elegantly in a white Christian Dior evening gown and black opera-length gloves between two lumbering elephants, changed hands for $19,800. Avant-garde photographer Helmut Newton's 15-print French Vogue portfolio of four expressionless women clad only in high heels sold earlier this year for $24,150, more than three times its estimated price. Lillian Bassman's classic 1954 Harper's profile of a high-society model and dachshund brought $2,588 at auction in April, nearly a third more than was anticipated. A Norman Parkinson portrait of Wenda Rogerson posed in front of a dismal London tenement, which appeared in the February 1950 British Vogue, sold for $1,725 last spring, some $200 more than predicted. "People are beginning to realize that fashion photography is no less serious than the fine-arts photography of masters like Ansel Adams, Man Ray and Alfred Stieglitz," says Beth Gates-Warren, director of photographs at Sotheby's in New York.

Yet, for the most part, it remains considerably less expensive. Despite the high price of Avedon's one-of-a-kind pachyderm print, most fashion photos are relatively affordable, particularly now that the photography market as a whole has reacquainted itself with the economy. Average prices for all sorts of photos, from still lifes to landscapes, have come down by about 23 percent since 1990- -when collectors who could no longer afford the skyrocketing prices of paintings unleashed their wallets on photography and sent prices soaring.

In those days, a signed Ansel Adams shot of Yosemite would easily sell for $8,000. Last April, one sold for $6,325. Similarly, a 1915 platinum print by Stieglitz that experts say could have sold for as much as $40,000 or $50,000 in 1990 sold last year for $32,200. "Photography is still one of the last great bargains in the art world," says Robert Persky, publisher of the Photograph Collector newsletter. "And fashion photography is a real deal because it has been mostly overlooked."

Now, the art's appeal is becoming clear to a wider audience. Recent sales of fashion shots are making news, and the publication of "An Autobiography: Richard Avedon" (Random House/ Eastman Kodak Professional Photography Division, $100) in October is bound to generate more publicity. The 432-page, coffee-table-size retrospective will be followed next spring by an exhibition of more than 150 of Avedon's black-and-white photographs at the Whitney Museum in New York. "Museum shows and books are legitimizing fashion photography," says Taki Wise, co-owner of Staley-Wise, a New York fashion photography gallery. "It gives people confidence to buy and ultimately boosts prices."

Confidence is one thing. Knowing what to buy is something else altogether, considering that there are thousands of images in hundreds of styles by dozens of top-notch photographers on sale at galleries and auction houses. Here are some guidelines to narrowing the field and building a solid collection:

Whether a photo has the potential to grow in value probably depends more on the person behind the lens than the person in front of it. Pictures by a well-established photographer, like Avedon, working for a major fashion magazine, like Vogue, are likely to appreciate more (and cost more) than those of a famous model by an unknown photographer. Besides Avedon, fashion photographers whose work is selling well today include early master Edward Steichen (chief photographer at Conde Nast in the mid-1920s), as well as Horst P. Horst, Cecil Beaton and Irving Penn, whose elegant, stark, black-and-white photos graced Harper's and Vogue during the '40s and '50s. Their photographs tend to portray chaste, refined images of haughty, glamorous women. Louise Dahl-Wolfe, credited with discovering Lauren Bacall in the early 1940s when she was a model, is another favorite. Dahl-Wolfe is known for casual shots of outdoorsy women, who were the antithesis of the hothouse models favored by her predecessors. Her work for Harper's from 1935 until 1958 included some of the first color shots ever to appear in that magazine. Her prints sell for between $1,000 and $4,500.

Publication counts. The ethereal and mysterious work of Deborah Turbeville, who worked for Vogue and Vanity Fair during the '70s and '80s, is slightly more affordable. Prices range from $1,500 to $2,500 for her dreamlike prints of extremely tall models in gossamer, lacy gowns. Hyperhip photographers such as Herb Ritts, famous for his celebrity Gap ads; Helmut Newton, whose shots of robotic women wearing nothing but stiletto heels and leather gloves smack of sadomasochism, and Bruce Weber, known for his homoerotic Calvin Klein ads, are also selling well. Their graphic, unorthodox and sharp-edged works range in price from $1,500 to $10,000.

Published photos are worth more than those left on the cutting-room floor, and cover shots are more valuable, often by a couple thousand dollars, than those featured on inside pages. Add some chicken scratch by a photo editor, and a print's price could as much as double. Avedon's Dovima, for instance, not only appeared in Harper's but also carried an editor's notations on the back, which helped boost its price at sale time.

Vintage prints, or those made within a few years of the negative, are preferable to prints made later from the same negative. Vintage prints are often dated or stamped on the back with a photographer's studio address at the time the print was made. Price may also be a clue. A Horst for under $3,000, for example, is probably a limited-edition print made in the last 10 years from a 1950s-era negative. A vintage Horst, which is extremely rare, would cost three times as much.

Black-and-white prints are generally a better investment than color ones, which tend to fade more easily. And a platinum or palladium print, recognizable by its matte surface, rich tone and wide range of grays, is more precious still. These rare prints will last longer than the more common and modern black-and-white prints made with silver. They also are considerably more expensive, sometimes adding another $1,000 to the tag.

It may sound obvious, but it bears repeating: Buy only those prints that really appeal to you. Many novice collectors overlook their own tastes in favor of a "find" they think will appreciate. Prices may well rise, but fashion photography has yet to prove it can make the leap from collector's item to sound investment. That means you may be living with a naked Nastassia Kinski and her boa constrictor, or whatever your choice, for a long time.

Paying for expertise. Dealers typically charge about one-third more than you would pay at an auction house, but their expertise is part of the price. "As a new collector, I don't begrudge paying a premium for a dealer's expertise," says New York attorney Monroe Sonnenborn, whose recently started collection now numbers 14 pieces. "Initially, it's pretty bewildering." Sonnenborn's collection, put together with the help of Staley-Wise, consists of six works by Dahl-Wolfe, three by Horst, one by William Klein (known for his shots of defiant, deadpan Vogue models in the mid-1950s), one by Harper's photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson from the 1930s and two by French photographer Jacques-Henri Lartigue (1894-1986). For a list of dealers who specialize in fashion, write to the Association of International Photography Art Dealers (1609 Connecticut Avenue N.W., Washington, DC 20009). For a catalog of forthcoming auctions--the big houses have been holding photography sales each spring and fall since 1975--you can call Sotheby's (800) 444-3709; Swann Galleries (212) 254-4710; Christie's (718) 784-1480, and San Francisco's Butterfield & Butterfield (800) 223-2854.

Fashion photography, like fashion itself, is by its very nature capricious. So it's better to accessorize smartly rather than to acquire a new wardrobe for every season.